Copperheads earn weekend split in HJHL play

Posted on November 28, 2024 by Sunny South News

By Garrett Simmons
Sunny South News

It was a mixed bag of results for the Coaldale Copperheads on the weekend in Heritage Junior Hockey League play.

Things started out on a high note with a 4-3 win in overtime on Friday, as Coaldale escaped Didsbury on Friday night against the Mountainview Colts.

The game didn’t start according to plan, however, as the Colts took an early 2-0 lead, before Nathan Verloop cut the lead in half with a goal assisted by Brett Hudey.

Mountainview scored a powerplay goal with 46 seconds left in the first, as the Copperheads went to the locker room down 3-1.

After a scoreless second, the third was all Coaldale, as Riley Preachuk scored to make it 3-2, as Eric Price and Brandon Creighton drew the helpers, before Verloop tied things up with a powerplay goal with only 12 seconds left. Spencer Talerico-Kucheran and Koden Lazar had the assists.

In the extra frame, Verloop completed his hat trick, and scored his 10th goal of the year, unassisted, to win it in OT.

Mountainview held a 39-31 advantage on the shot clock, thanks in part to nine powerplays, while Coaldale was on the man advantage six times.

Brylin Noble made 36 saves and picked up the win.

On Saturday, the Ponoka Stampeders skated to a 5-2 win in Coaldale, thanks to a second-period flurry of goals. The game was scoreless after the first, as Coaldale held Ponoka to only five shots.

The Stampeders put up 14 shots in the second as the team’s offence took the game over, before Caden Heins made it 3-1 with a goal for the Copperheads in the third. Griffin McCulloch, Kobe Fujita had the assists.

After Ponoka extended the lead to 4-1, Heins scored his second, assisted by Landon Howg, as the lead was cut to 4-2.

A Ponoka empty-net goal with one second left put the game away.

Coaldale outshot Ponoka 38-32, as Noble made 27 saves in goal for the Copperheads.

This weekend, Coaldale will head to Cochrane on Friday to face the Generals.

On Saturday, the Okotoks Bisons will visit Coaldale for an 8 p.m. game.